RSS hits out at Rahul Gandhi over 'shorts' remark

The RSS today hit out at Rahul Gandhi for his remarks that he had not seen any woman attending Sangh 'shakhas' in "shorts" and said the Congress vice president "only reads out" speeches written by the people who have no understanding of the Sangh.

The RSS said Gandhi's remark is akin to asking whether any woman is in a men's hockey team.

"He (Gandhi) was reading out a speech written by the people who don't know anything about the RSS," its spokesperson Manmohan Vaidya said while talking to reporters here when asked to comment on Gandhi's remark.

Gandhi, while addressing a gathering of students in Vadodara in Gujarat yesterday, had alleged that the RSS discriminates against women.

"How many women are there in the RSS?... Have you ever seen any woman in 'shakhas' wearing shorts? I have never seen," the Congress leader had said yesterday in a sarcastic tone.

Hitting out at Gandhi, Vaidya said, "Does anyone see women in the men's hockey team? Sangh's 'shakhas' comprise men and not women."

RSS has a separate wing for women called 'Rashtra Sevika Samiti'.

Vaidya also criticised the Congress, saying it is losing ground.

"The RSS works for the upliftment of the people and it is growing day-by-day, while the Congress is losing its ground. The Congress should work towards strengthening itself instead of looking at the RSS," he added.

"We are not a political party...Fight with your rival, the BJP," the RSS spokesperson told the Congress.